Black Diamond Structures, a developer and manufacturer of innovative nanomaterial products and solutions, announced today that two members of their board of directors, Kurt Swogger and Dr. Clive Bosnyak, are recipients of the prestigious “Inventor of the Year” award given by the Houston Intellectual Property Law Association for the development of their proprietary technology, MOLECULAR REBAR®. Swogger and Bosnyak are co-founders of Molecular Rebar Design, LLC, a leading nanomaterial innovator, and hold five key patents for MOLECULAR REBAR®.

Black Diamond Structures is a joint venture between Molecular Rebar Design and SABIC, the world’s second largest diversified chemical company. It develops, manufactures and commercializes products based on the MOLECULAR REBAR® technology.

MOLECULAR REBAR® are discrete, open ended, and highly functionalized multi-wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) that are free from catalysts and waste matter. The technology is a scientific breakthrough providing opportunities for development and commercialization of innovative new materials for a wide variety of products and market segments. The addition of MOLECULAR REBAR® to materials significantly enhances mechanical, physical, transport and electromagnetic properties.

Black Diamond Structures is currently working with manufacturers of lead acid batteries across the globe to enhance performance utilizing this technology.

MOLECULAR REBAR® can be implemented into existing battery processes efficiently and provide substantial benefits in most applications:

·Increasing charge acceptance by >25%

·Increasing cycle life by >50%

·Improved formation efficiency.

Commenting on the award, Swogger stated, “Clive and I are very pleased and honored that the Houston Intellectual Property Law Association has recognized our work related to creating more value for carbon nanotubes. MOLECULAR REBAR® has some remarkable properties and the prediction for use in nanomaterials is very gratifying. We are very fortunate and delighted to be working with this technology in so many markets and applications where we can make such a difference to so many customers and products.”

Bosnyak further remarked, “In addition to the innovative breakthroughs made on the science and to meet rapidly growing global customer demands there has also been remarkable progress on the ability to scale up and manufacture MOLECULAR REBAR® here in Texas. This has created valuable employment and growth opportunities that further strengthens the position of Texas as a leader of nanomaterials technology.”

Swogger and Bosnyak, both formerly with The Dow Chemical Company, have extensive experience in developing and commercializing breakthrough products. Swogger, as Vice-President of Dow’s R&D, is well known for his work in Polyolefins and INSITE Technology™. Bosnyak, as Senior Scientist at Dow, has been the recipient of a number of awards and international recognition for his work, including the R&D 100 Award.

Andrew Kodis, CEO of Black Diamond Structures, lauded the two innovators saying, “I am truly honored to be associated with the scientific advancements achieved by Kurt, Clive and their team. Since 1983, HIPLA has honored inventors and their discoveries from every industry and profession – it is a remarkable list of scientific effort and creativity. To be included among those previously honored is a remarkable achievement.”

Black Diamond Structures, LLC is a developer and manufacturer of innovative nanomaterial products and solutions. Created in 2015 as joint venture between Molecular Rebar Design, a leading nanomaterial innovator, and SABIC, the world’s second largest diversified chemical company, Black Diamond Structures is taking nanomaterial technology to a new level.

Our products are based on Molecular Rebar Design’s revolutionary carbon nanotube (CNT) technology, MOLECULAR REBAR®. MOLECULAR REBAR® are discrete, open ended, and highly functionalized CNTs that are free from catalysts and waste matter. The technology significantly advances the science for nanomaterials and provides opportunities for development and commercialization of innovative new materials to be used in a wide variety of products and market segments.

Together, with SABIC’s commercial and manufacturing capabilities and Molecular Rebar Design’s advanced nanotechnology, Black Diamond Structures, LLC is unleashing the power of nanomaterials to improve the world we live in.

About our Partners:

Molecular Rebar Design, LLC (MRD)

Molecular Rebar Design, LLC, based in Austin, Texas, was established to develop and commercialize a breakthrough form of modified carbon nanotubes (CNT’s), called MOLECULAR REBAR®. These are the world’s first CNT’s that are disentangled from the usual clumping and individualized through a patent-protected process which enables significantly enhanced performance for a myriad of high-value materials.

SABIC

SABIC ranks as the world’s second largest diversified chemical company. The company is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.

SABIC’s businesses are grouped into Chemicals, Polymers, Performance Chemicals, Fertilizers, Metals and Innovative Plastics. SABIC has significant research resources with 19 dedicated Technology & Innovation facilities in Saudi Arabia, the USA, the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, India, China and South Korea. The company operates in more than 45 countries across the world with around 40,000 employees worldwide.

SABIC manufactures on a global scale in Saudi Arabia, the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.